Wednesday, December 23, 2015

In the kitchen the orange glaze on two cranberry orange buttermilk cakes is setting up, and two loaves of cinnamon cranberry bread are in the final rise before being popped into the oven. Tomorrow morning they'll be delivered to friends and family. There's an old movie playing on the t.v. and my husband has dozed off on the couch while watching it.

We hosted the whole family for a Christmas brunch on Monday and exchanged gifts with the oldest and her family and the youngest and her husband since they'll both be with their in-laws for Christmas this year. Our Christmas tradition is to have boiled eggs, sausage balls, cheese grits, and toasted cinnamon cranberry bread for Christmas breakfast. My husband then reads a blessing that he writes for each one of our daughters and their family for the coming year. Then we open gifts.

Since her sisters won't be home, our middle daughter invited us to join her family for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at their house. My grandson called tonight, and suggested that we just go ahead and spend the night at their house Christmas Eve to avoid having to wait for us to arrive on Christmas Day. We live about two miles away from each other. (smile) We'll make our traditional Christmas dinner in spite of the rest of the family being out of town, boneless leg of lamb, potatoes roasted with bacon and green onion, green bean casserole, salad and homemade rolls.

In my home office, twenty three titles of Jesus hang on my little Christmas tree. Two more names remain to be hung, one tomorrow on Christmas Eve and one on Christmas morning. It's a good way to count down to Christmas, but most of all, a good reminder of all that my Savior is as we celebrate His birth. You can read more about this tradition here.

Earlier this evening my husband and I took a drive to his hometown, 40 minutes north of where we live now, and ate dinner out then drove around looking at Christmas lights. It's been an almost annual holiday outing through the years, the whole family in tow when our daughters lived at home.

Baking our family favorites, counting down the days to Christmas by hanging the titles of Jesus on my little Christmas tree, taking a drive to look at Christmas lights, a familiar and loved Christmas menu, these are a few of our family's Christmas traditions. I'd love for you to share one of your family's Christmas traditions in the comments.

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

The first Christmas after we were married we had a wee little Christmas tree with only some lights and candy canes for decorations. Somewhere we acquired three little plastic figures that grab onto a candy cane, a santa, a penguin and a nutcracker. Each year, no matter what other decorations have come and gone on our Christmas tree, we always hang candy canes on it, and we always have the little plastic santa, penguin and nutcracker. It reminds us of our very first merry little Christmas, when we were poor in money, but rich in love.

still following,

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Sunday, December 20, 2015

It's been a rich and full week, lots of Christmas hustle and bustle, with some time spent with the grandkids on top of that so that one daughter could go on an anniversary getaway and so another could work on decor/set up for her church's Christmas celebration. Today was full of activities for our church, as well as for our daughter and son-in-law's church, which we attended as well as our own.

I'm hoping to slow down and savor the rest of this Christmas week. I'm also hoping that the hope, peace, joy and love we remember as we light the Advent candles, will fill your hearts and homes this week.

***************

Since 2009 I've been counting my blessings thanks to the prompting of Ann Voskamp.

I continue to count my thanks

piling up gratitude day by day

in my little green journal.

(and capturing some of my blessings via my camera or iPhone)

#6911-#6935

12-14-15-

-Psalm 142

-dinner at our friends' house

-watching Holiday Inn while writing out Christmas cards

12-15-15-

-finally feeling well enough after last week's flu to resume my walking

-finding my husband's Christmas gift

-singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" with my youngest grandson

-homemade spaghetti and homemade french bread eaten with the grandkids and a young man from church

12-16-15-

-youngest grandson being so good for me while his parents are out of town for their anniversary

-the way his face lights up when his older sister and brother get home from school

-our youngest daughter coming over for stew and cornbread and to watch The Preacher's Wife with me

12-17-15-

-our middle daughter's fifteenth wedding anniversary

-a sweet young gal from church coming over to help me with our grandson while I have a bible study at my house

-making homemade chocolates with her to share with the ladies

-Panda Express before prayer meeting and after a busy day

12-18-15-

-Papa taking the two oldest grands to the new Star Wars

-the annual event of having the grandkids over to dip pretzels in white and milk chocolate

12-19-15-

-"the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ and He shall reign forever and ever

-a wonderful walk before the rain started again

-golden leaves refusing to fall off some of the trees

-snowberries

-people who agree to pray for us to find our missing passports

12-20-15-

-new faces at our church's Christmas lunch

-spending the afternoon with our two youngest granddaughters

-Hope City's amazing Christmas celebration

-going out afterwards with our youngest daughter and her husband and in-laws

Thursday, December 17, 2015

This year I decided to try drying some orange slices to use on my little kitchen Christmas tree.

I've seen them used as Christmas decor in several places over the years,

and finally got around to trying it myself.

Christmas and oranges are connected in my mind,

as an orange was always what filled the toe of our Christmas stockings.

I imagine there are many others in my age group who remember the same thing.

Christmas stockings usually had an orange, nuts and candy in them, not gifts like they do now.

Methods for drying vary,

but here's the one I tried.

First, slice the oranges in 1/4 inch thick slices.

In a 225 degree oven, place the orange slices directly on the oven rack and leave for 2-2 1/2 hours,

turning them over at least once in the drying process.

Once dried, I simply threaded some baker's string on an embroidery needle and made one stitch through the pulp part of the dried orange slice, cut the string and tied it, then hung it on my little kitchen tree.

Project number two is this jingle all the way sign.

It couldn't be easier!

Find a Dollar Tree Christmas gift bag with a cute saying on it.

Find a Dollar Tree frame.

Using the glass from the frame, trace a rectangle around the wording centering it beneath the glass.

Cut it out, and if it's creased or wrinkled, iron it on low heat between the two layers of a folded dish towel.